President Donald Trump officially signed the first legislative act of his second term into law on Wednesday, moving to protect Americans from the scourge of illegal migrant-related crime during a solemn and, at times, tearful ceremony in Washington, D.C., at the White House.
The president signed the Laken Riley Act into law, honoring the life of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, who was slaughtered in Georgia by an illegal alien gang member from Venezuela in early 2024.
The act will not only require the Department of Homeland Security to detain all illegal migrants arrests on crimes like theft or larceny, but it will also empower the states to sue the federal government for failures to secure the safety of the American people if proper border security measures were not taken to prevent such harm.
The president said this would “save countless American lives.”
Also present at Wednesday’s ceremony was the family of Laken Riley, whom the president acknowledged on several occasions.
“This is a perfect, incredible tribute to an unbelievable young lady,” Trump said.
He invited Laken’s mother, Allyson Riley, to take the podium for a moment to speak about the significance of the bill.
“[President Trump] said he would secure our borders and that he would never forget about Laken – and he hasn’t. He’s a man of his word,” she said tearfully.
She continued, “Most importantly, I want to thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, because without His sacrifices Laken’s story would have ended on that horrific day…our hope moving forward is that her life saves lives.”
The Riley family stood with President Trump while he signed the legislation on Wednesday afternoon. It was a very solemn moment.
As an additional statement during his remarks, President Trump revealed that he would be taking further action to remove illegal alien criminals from American soil by issue an executive order instructing the Department of Defense to begin preparing Guantanamo Bay to “detain the worst illegal aliens” threatening Americans today amid the nationwide deportation operation.
